May 21 2013
PROBLEM: Public health officials spend a lot of time trying to figure out to how to be against obesity, as a disease, without being against obese people. (Or at least, most of them do.) It's probably safe to say that most of this complexity is lost on children, who pick up on societal cues as to what is socially acceptable and what is not.
METHODOLOGY: Andrew Hill and colleagues at the University of Leeds designed three versions of a simple story book about two friends, Alfie and Thomas, whose cat gets stuck in a tree. In one version, both Alfie and Thomas were "normal." In the two others, Thomas remained the same but Alfie was presented as either overweight or disabled. The books were read to 126 schoolchildren, ranging in age from 4 to 6 years old, who were then asked to rate Alfie and Thomas on a number of attributes. The procedure was repeated with female characters -- Alfina and Holly -- for another group of 150 children.
Positive thinking is a significant element of happiness. In order to become a positive thinker, determination and consistency are important. The first thing to know about positive thinking is that everyone can do it. With certain cognitive and behavioral modifications, we can all become positive thinkers. Another important factor is that being a positive thinker does not mean you become numb to anything that is not working properly in your life or is negative -- it just means that you approach life and face challenges with a healthier outlook.
Answering a call while getting your blood pressure taken could lead to an inaccurately higher reading, according to a new study.
What if you had the ability to heal your body just by changing how you think and feel? I know it sounds radical, coming from a doctor. When people are doing everything "right"—eating veggies, avoiding red meat and processed foods, exercising, sleeping well and so forth—we should expect them to live long, prosperous lives and die of old age while peacefully slumbering, right? So why is it that so many health nuts are sicker than other people who pig out, guzzle beer and park in front of the TV?
For many women, the extra calories that are vital for a healthy pregnancy often become a green light to indulge and give into cravings. In fact, more than 30 percent of women who have a normal weight before becoming pregnant gain more than the recommended amount during pregnancy, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.
